


Rey and the Monster

by tmwillson3



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Beauty and the Beast Elements, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Force Bond (Star Wars), Injury
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-31
Updated: 2018-08-31
Packaged: 2019-07-04 23:33:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,922
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15851697
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tmwillson3/pseuds/tmwillson3
Summary: When Rey is discovered by the Resistance, she is sent to Ahch-To to be trained by the disfigured man who lives there, Ben. She learns to hate him and his stupid rules, until she breaks one rule, bringing unexpected visitors. Then, she discovers the truth about Ben and why he won't get close to her.





	Rey and the Monster

**Author's Note:**

> No, I don't own Star Wars or anything else I reference. For the Drabble Me This prompts on Reylo fic Recs, there was an image of Rey binding up an injured Ben created by Heidi Hastings. Check her out on tumblr! The image immediately made me think of that one scene in the animated Beauty and the Beast movie, so I tried to combine the two. 
> 
> I hope you like it!

“Just hold still.”

 

There was a sudden movement from the makeshift hospital bed as Rey brought forward a bacta patch.

 

Ben - though he preferred to be called Kylo Ren or Monster - cringed and scooted as far from the bacta patch as he could.

 

Rey refused to call him either name, though. It was an insult to him and his family.

 

He may have a monstrous temper (toward other things, not her) and be an entitled, overly moody jerk, but he wasn't a monster.

 

That moniker was reserved for the man who had disfigured Ben at the tender age of thirteen, forcing Ben to hide his face and body when he refused to join the First Order. 

 

He growled as she touched his torso. “That hurts!”

 

“Well of course it does! You just fought off seven Force-users by yourself! Now, if you would just hold still, it wouldn't hurt as much!”

 

She had always heard the legends about the Jedi and Sith. She hadn't believed any of them until she met Ben.

 

When Finn and BB-8 had found her, they escaped the Stormtroopers. When the Knights of Snoke had followed them to Takodana, they discovered that Rey was Force-sensitive as well. 

 

They tried to capture her, but she escaped with the others back to D’qar.

 

To Leia and Luke.

 

There was no time for Luke to train her beyond one lesson, so she was forced to stay with Ben on Ahch-To. He stayed there to avoid detection and hide his monstrous appearance while he trained to become strong enough to defeat Snoke. 

 

As soon as she had walked down the ship's ramp, Ben had walked forward, covered in black.

 

“You're not welcome here, little nobody. Leave this island, now.”

 

“Are you Ben?” she asked in an annoyed tone instead, remembering Leia's warnings about his… moods.

 

He growled through his helmet, his vehement voice making her stand a little taller in defiance.

 

“Who's asking? Who sent you? What do you want? You can't kill me. Snoke already tried.”

 

“I was sent by your mother, if you must know. She and Luke said that you should train me in the ways of the Force.”

 

The defiant lift of her chin was what sealed the deal for him as she stood her ground, her gaze unwavering as he prowled toward her.

 

“Is that so? Then let's have a better look at you.”

 

Even though he wore a mask, she still felt his eyes blaze a trail over every inch of her body. It was a little intimidating. 

 

“Take off that mask,” she demanded.

 

“No. I'd repulse you and give you nightmares.”

 

“Considering the scum I saw in Jakku, nothing scares me. Take off that mask,” she demanded again.

 

“Make me,” he taunted smugly.

 

Rey didn't know much about the Force, but from the one lesson she had, she knew that she had to concentrate if she wanted to use the Force.

 

Channeling her annoyance and anger, she snarled and stepped toward him. As she did, she focused on moving the helmet.

 

The smug stance he held disappeared as he felt the helmet lift up. Then, his hands came up, unlatching the mask fully.

 

With a hiss, the mask went flying to the ground, and Rey was startled by the left half of his face that was permanently scarred and disfigured, with more below the clothing. 

 

“Are you happy now?” he muttered, turning around to hide his shame.

 

“No, but fair is fair,” she said, grabbing his arm. 

 

“Hardly,” he huffed, trying to shake her grip.

 

When she refused, he turned around and stared intently at her. 

 

She did the same, taking in every stroke of the lightsaber that had attacked his face.

 

She felt something push at the corners of her mind.m, a soft probing.

 

“You're not afraid of me. You should be,” he breathed. “I'm worse than Unkar Plutt.”

 

“Get out of my head!” she growled, trying to push him away as she realized what he was doing.

 

She pushed and pushed until suddenly, she stumbled across a barrier. Then, she saw an image of a much younger Ben, cowering before a demented-looking older man.

 

“You are strong with the Dark Side. You will  _ always  _ be a monster. And now, everyone who looks at you will know.”

 

She watched as the man - Snoke - slashed at Ben’s face, arms, and chest. 

 

She reached out to his shoulder at a particular moment, as the saber burned through it.

 

“I'm sorry,” she choked out.

 

“I don't want your pity!” he spat, pulling away from her at last.

 

When he realized that she wasn't abandoning him like everyone else, he motioned for her to follow, grabbing his helmet as he walked.

 

As he went to put it back on, she hesitantly asked, “Would you please leave it off? I prefer you without it.”

 

“Why? So you can secretly laugh at me?” he demanded, getting in her face.

 

“No. Because you seem more human like this,” she said firmly but softly as she stood her ground

 

“I'm not. I'm a monster. You should address me thusly,” he said, refusing to step down.

 

“I'll do no such thing,” she retorted quickly, closing the small gap between them.

 

“Fine. Then call me Kylo Ren. It's my new identity,” he said, pulling himself up taller to command more respect.

 

“You will  _ always  _ be Ben to me,” she stubbornly maintained. “I'll call you Master, but that's it.”

 

He huffed as he broke eye contact.

 

He didn't wear the mask.

 

In the weeks that followed, he gave her long lists of rules to follow, of things she wasn't allowed to do, with the Force and in general.

 

It had all been in the name of safety, so he said. She personally thought he made up stuff just to get a rise out of her.

 

It wasn't until one particular day of practice that she finally got fed up.

 

She had done everything right, and yet he still nitpicked. He pushed her and made unnecessary demands to the point of exhaustion.

 

He was an exacting teacher who seemed to see everything, or at the very least, could read her thoughts sometimes. 

 

It was usually awful, unless she was really worn out. Then, he told her to go rest since she seemed to need it.

 

He made it seem like she was so weak. She hated him for it.

 

Instead of going back to her hut to rest, she found herself wandering toward her ship. She missed her friends. She wanted to talk to them.

 

It was forbidden to contact anyone outside the island. He never explained why, so she assumed it wouldn't hurt to do it this once.

 

She did. She had an hour-long chat with Finn and Poe until Ben stormed into the area, snarling with rage.

 

“What…. have... you… done?”

 

“I needed a break, and I missed my friends. We talked. I feel much better now.”

 

“How long have you been doing this?” he managed to get out.

 

“An hour,” she said smugly. 

 

As quickly as he entered, he left similarly.

 

“You're an idiot! You understand nothing!” he screamed as he raced toward his hut. 

 

She followed him, hurrying to keep up with his ground-eating strides as she tried to contain her anger.

 

“That wouldn't be the first time, Master Ben,” she snarked. “Please do tell me what I did wrong this time.”

 

“They could have spotted your signal,” he hissed in her face. “They could come for you. Hurt you.”

 

“Who? Snoke?” she said with a laugh. 

 

“No, his knights. They do his bidding for minor annoyances like you.”

 

“If that's how you really feel, then maybe it'd be better if they did take me!” she screamed in frustration, angrily making her way to her ship.

 

“Where are you going?” he called, in an almost worried voice.

 

“I'm leaving this stupid island. I clearly can't do anything right, so you won't teach me anymore, and I'm tired of-"

 

“Rey, wait!”

 

She stopped for a moment before turning to look at him. His eyes looked scared for some reason.

 

“Please, don't-"

 

He saw something, making his mouth clamp shut. When he spoke again, he said, “Hide! Find a weapon, now!”

 

Puzzled by this, she looked in the direction he was and saw two Epsilon-class ships preparing to land.

 

“That's the knights! Hide!” he cried, reaching out for his own lightsaber.

 

Rey ran to her ship, where she kept Luke’s saber. Another stupid rule.

 

As she entered her ship, she saw eight red figures start to exit the ships. When she came back out, Ben was facing the eight, ready to fight.

 

She rushed forward, even as he somehow screamed at her through her mind to stay back and hide.

 

She didn't understand why. They'd have a much better chance of winning if they worked together. 

 

As they began to fight, she saw why Luke had insisted she learn from Ben, and why he demanded perfection. 

 

Each cut with his saber was perfect and graceful. Never was a move wasted. He received a number of slashes on his arms, but nothing serious.

 

He whirled and tore through them two at a time until two happened to see her as she rapidly approached. 

 

They ran for her, and Ben howled in agony.

 

She couldn't explain how she knew it was agony, rather than anger, but she knew, just as he seemed able to read her thoughts.

 

As the masked figures rushed her, she took her position and did Ben proud. 

 

She was doing admirably until one pinned her against a rock. As she panicked, Ben came flying forward, hacking at the other knight and receiving a huge gash on his stomach in the process.

 

She winced and used her attacker's hesitation to turn the tables. The figure pulled away and took another swipe at Ben, leaving another nasty wound on his chest.

 

Rey quickly killed the knight after that.

 

As she breathed in relief at finding she was barely hurt besides one scar on her upper arm, she discovered that Ben was bleeding everywhere. 

 

“Rey, you should leave the island while you still can,” Ben wheezed, trying to get up and failing. “They'll come back, and in bigger numbers. Any chance of finding another Force-user as powerful as you will bring them back quickly.”

 

He stopped trying to get up after saying that.

 

“What are you going to do?” she asked with worry.

 

“I'm going to die here. I've lost too much blood. Snoke would love this,” he sneered.

 

“Then don't let him win!” she cried, surging forward and grabbing his hands. “Help me get you up. I'll carry you back to your hut.”

 

He looked like he wanted to argue, but decided to humor her instead. He figured he was too far gone already.

 

Their combined efforts finally got him up. As they walked, she prodded him to keep talking in order to keep him conscious. 

 

He told her a list of places she should hide at while she finished training.

 

When she finally got him to his hut, he sat on his bed.

 

“Take off your shirt,” she said nonchalantly. 

 

“What? No,” he said, some pink coloring his cheeks.

 

“Ben, now is not the time to be embarrassed. You're injured. Let me help you before I do it myself,” she threatened. “I'm not going to let you die here.”

 

“You should. I deserve it,” he grumbled, even as he started pulling off his black shirt.

 

When the shirt was gone, Rey found herself feeling something….. different. She couldn't quite explain what it was as she looked at his new gashes and many old scars, but her heart started pounding faster. 

 

“Rey, please, don't look at me like this,” he pleaded, his eyes sad and broken. “Remember me as your strong teacher, not this pathetic, bloody monster.”

 

She tilted her head just a little at the odd plea. Some part of her was overjoyed that he didn't want to be a monster in the end.

 

“I'm not abandoning you,” she whispered. “Besides, you're too stubborn to die like this.”

 

She went for a bacta patch while he stewed and stared daggers at her back.

 

When he pushed her away after her first unsuccessful attempt to place a bacta patch on him, he said angrily, “None of this would have happened if you had just followed the rules.”

 

“What, your many rules given without rhyme or reason? Sure. That's a great way to inspire someone to follow them,” she said, shaking her head in disbelief. 

 

“They're good rules. Everything has a purpose, especially outside communication. If you had just not talked to them-"

 

“If you had explained why I shouldn't talk to them, I wouldn't have,” she interrupted.

 

“You're supposed to trust me,” he said defensively. “I'm your Master. I know what's best for you. You just don't have the discipline-"

 

“And that's yet another reason why I needed to talk to someone. Don't you know there are other ways to teach besides with negative reinforcement? Are you trying to alienate me? If so, you're doing a great job.”

 

All air inside him left. He was motionless and sullen, looking away from her on purpose. 

 

Kriff, after all this time. He still didn't want her with him.

 

“It's not that I don't want you. I do,” he suddenly said, as though reading her mind again. His eyes darted up to meet hers briefly. 

“But you'll leave, like everyone else before you. I don't think I could handle losing you if you got any closer to me.”

 

“How do you  _ do  _ that?” she asked, coming toward him. “Tell me what I need to know now, or else I'm not going to go easy on you as I fix you up.”

 

His nose flared, and his face scrunched in disgust as he gingerly leaned back on his arms.

 

“Fine. I'm not sure how, but there's some kind of bond between us, created by the Force. Ever since we probed one another's minds, I've been able to see things. I just hide my thoughts from you.”

 

She huffed. “Figures. You could have told me about that, or those knights for that matter.”

 

“I wanted to protect you,” he said simply. “I thought if I trained you well enough, you'd be hardened against me and anyone else who might find you, as well as kill anyone. We'll have to work on using our surroundings when we fight next time.”

 

She giggled a little at his teaching tone, always looking for ways to improve. Then, she sobered as she realized why he had been talking to her so little and with no effort at being nice.

 

“Well, you still protected me like you wanted. And if you're still willing to teach me when you're better, we'll pick up training on a different planet.”

 

He stared at her as though she had developed two more heads.

 

“Why do you want to spend even more time with me? Haven't I scared you off yet?”

 

“What does our bond tell you?” she asked, sure of the answer.

 

He closed his eyes, reaching out to her.

 

“No. Every single time,” he said in awe. “I don't deserve it.”

 

“Then maybe you could be nicer going forward?” she suggested. “Why should either of us be alone when we don't want it?”

 

He grabbed her arms, pulling her close.

 

“Why do you say that? What did you see?”

 

“Nothing,” she said in frustration. “But you didn't like the idea of me leaving any more than I do, so-"

 

“You can't possibly want this more than me,” he interrupted savagely. “I know what you're capable of. If Snoke knew what you could do, he'd want you dead or turned. I don't intend to let either of those things happen.”

 

“Why does it always take a near-death experience to hear the full truth?” she asked quietly, moving in closer.

 

Their eyes found one another at last, her curious ones meeting his earnest ones.

 

“Because I didn't want to scare you. You're my equal, Rey. I've taught you skills from the Dark Side and the Light. You excel in the Light where I don't. It's no coincidence.”

 

“Then don't hide anything from me anymore. Show me everything, including yourself,” she said, securing the patch for emphasis. 

 

He gulped.

 

“If that's what you really want.”

 

“It is.”

 

He jerked in pain one last time as the patch began to work. Rey used the opportunity to ensure that he was comfortable, checking out the rest of his body.

 

“I have some cream that'll help with the burning sensation over there,” he said, pointing to a small dresser.

 

She found the cream, as well as bandages.

 

When the patch had done its part, she removed it and rubbed cream all over his upper body and arms. 

 

She wasn't sure who shivered first when she placed her right hand on his chest. She just knew that they both did, and they both remained silent throughout the process. He stared at her while she worked industriously.

 

When she was done, she wrapped him in gauze and bandages. As she finished, she broke the silence, staring at the bandages as she did so.

 

“Thank you, Ben, for saving my life.”

 

When she stopped moving, his hands moved quickly, cupping her face and bringing her up to meet his anxious eyes.

 

“You're welcome.”

 

_ Please stay. _

 

She heard that thought clearly. It seemed to burst out of him. Her response was just as swift and loud. 

 

_ Always. _

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed the story!


End file.
